Panic bolt



1,593,852 July 27 1926 J. H., SHAW PANIC BOLT Filed August 29, 1925 ssheets-sheep 1 WwW-TMW" 1,593,852 J. H, SHAW PANIC -BOLT Filed August29, 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 July 27, 1926. 1,593,852l

J. H. sHAw muc BOLT Filed August 29, 1925 ,5 sheets-sheet 5 PatentedJuly 27, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT @FETISH JOHNy SHAW, Oli" NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT,.ASSIGNOR IO SARGENT d: COMANY,

0F NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

PANIC BOLT.

Application filed August 29, '1.923. Serial No. 659,956. y

This invention relates to emergency exit locks or so-called panic boltlocks of the type which are appliedV to the door of school houses.,theaters, department stores, or other public buildings for facilitatingVexit where a lire or the like causes panic, and are usually applied toone of a pair of swinging doors where one of the doors normally remainsclosed.

This invention relates more particularly to panic bolt mechanisnii inwhich the doors are provided with bolts adapted to engage keepers orstrike plates on the lintel and floor, respectively, and arranged to bereleased from said strike plates or keepers by the operation of a panicbar on the inner face of the door. In some of its aspects, however, theprinciples of my invention are not limited to this type of device,although shown in connection therewith in the accompanying drawings.

It quite often occurs in case of a panic that so much pressure isapplied to the door as to render it impossible to withdraw the boltsfrom their keepers on account of the friction due to such pressure. Abolt may work perfectly when being' tried out under ordinary conditions,but when its operation is attempted in a panic, the pressure against theinner side of the door will cause the bolt to bind so tightly againstthe keeper that it is practically impossible to retract it.

lt is also necessary in such structures to provide mechanism whereby thebolts. when retracted to permit the door to open, will be retained inthis retracted position so that the door willv freely close,l althoughusually a spring is provided to urge the bolts normally to protractedposition. In some instances, a detent is provided in the bolt case tohold the bolt in retracted position7 and a lug or stop is provided onthe door frame to coact with the detent when the door is closed torelease the bolt and permit its protraction by the actuating spring.Such a mechanism, however, is more or less complex and expensive and notalways positive in operation.

One object of my invention is to overcome the defects mentioned aboveand to provide a bolt which will roll or swing pivotal-ly into its caseout of engagement with the door strike so as to be practicallyfrictionless in its operation.

Another object of my invent-ion is to provide a panic bolt mechanismsuchthat pressure upon the door will tendy to urge the bolt to retractedpositionyinstead of preventing` such movement by causing the bolt tobind against the keeper, as has been the case heretofore.

Another object of my invention is to provide panic bolts for the upperand lower edges of a door which will normally be retained in retractedposition when the door is opened but will be moved in a novel manner toprotracted position when the door is closed.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a form of bolt andcooperating` door strike or keeper such that the operation of the boltwill tend to prevent accumulation of dirt in the keeper opening, whichwould otherwise interfere with the protractionof the bolt.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in the novel featuresandcombinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

ln the aecompanying` drawings:

Fig. l is a front elevational view of a door provided with a lockembodying my im provements .j

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view ofv my panic bolt mechanism, some ofthe parts being; shown in section on line 2?-2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a. view similaito Fig. 2, showing the parts as the door isbeing' opened;

F 41- is a sectional view of my panic bolt mechanism7 showing the partsasm-the door is about to be closed;

Figi'. 5 is a front elevational view of the panic bolt mechanism withthe cover of the case of the lower bolt removed;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the bolt mechanism at the bottom of thedoor, showing the parts when the bolt is in protracted position;

7 is a section on line ll-7 of Fig. showing` the bolt in retractedposition;

Fig. S is a section on line 8 8 of Fig. 5:

9 is a sectional view on line QQ of Fig. 5;

l() is a top plan view of the door strike or keeper secured in the flooror threshold;

Fig. 11 is a side elevational view of the same.

l have shown at l0 and ll a pair of doors, such ag are commonly used inpublic build- Htl i li

ings, the door 11 being designed to remain normally in closed position.The panic bolt structure includes a bolt mechanism generally designatedby the numeral 12 adapted to cooperate with a strike plate or keeper onthe lintel, and the second bolt mechanism 13 designed to coopera-te witha keeper in the door or threshold of the door. These bolts are adaptedto be operated by means of a lever or panic bar 14 pivot-ed to anescutcheon plate 15 and to a case 16 secured upon the door whichencloses the operating mechanism for the bolts. The end of the panic baradjacent the case 16 is provided with a finger 17 which extends into thecase and is adapted to operate the bolt controlling rods or plungers 18and 19.

These rods extend within the case 16 and are, therefore, provided withlaterally disposed lugs and 21, respectively, either one of which thelinger 17 is adapted to engage. The mechanism within the case 16 may belike that shown in the patent to H. G. Voight,..No. 1,345,341, whereinthe rods 13 and 19 are connected by a walking beam so that when one ismoved upwardly, the other is moved downwardly, to simultaneouslyprotract or retract the bolts on the upper and lower edges of the door.The lug 20 is attached to the upper rod 13 and the lug 21 to the lowerrod 19, so that. as shown in F 3, a movement of the lever 14 downwardlyfrom the normal position shown in F 2 causes the finger 17 to move thelug 21 and, therefore, the rod 19 upwardly and, through the walking beamreferred to. causes a simule taneous downward movement of the rod 18 toretract the bolts from engagement with the keepers. A movement of thepanic bar 14 upwardly from normal position, as shown in Fig. 4, causesthe saine movement of the rods by exerting a downward pressure on thelug 20 secured to the rod 1S. Then the panic bar is released, the rodsare urged toward the edges of the door to protract the bolts by the coilspring 22, all of which is more fully shown in the Voight patent, abovereferred to.

The upper bolt mechanism 12 may be of the type shown in the applicationof llVilliam J. Carroll, Serial No. 659,969 tiled August 29, 1923,wherein a bolt 23 of semi-circular shape is pivoted to the case at 24and provided with a slot 25 toreceive a horizontally disposed post (notshown) secured to the keeper plate 26. The upper end of the rod 18 isprovided with a dogging member 27 which is adapted to move upwardlybehind a shoulder 2S on the bolt 23 when the door is moved to closedposition, and the bolt is protracted. This clogging member, by engagingbehind the shoulder 28, maintains the boit against being turned toprotracted position by pressure upon the door. When, however, thismember is withdrawn by the.

actuation of the rod 18 by the panic lever 14. the bolt is free to moveto a position shown in Fig. 3, wherein the door released on the top. Inthis position the clogging member 2i engages below the lower side of thebolt 23 and the rods 18 and 19 are prevented from moving outwardly underthe influence of the spring 22. The bolt 23 and. likewise, the bolt atthe lower edge of the door. to be de scribed hereinafter, are thusprevented from '.f-'i being protracted until the door is again closed.

The lower bolt mechanism designated generally by the numeral 13comprises a case 31, to the lower edge of which is piroted at "159 32 abolt 33. This bolt is adapted to have :i pivotal or rotary movement andis [.u'ovided with a recess 34 in which is received the end of a link 35which is pivoted lo the bolt at 36. At its other end, the link 35 iscon-- nected to a bolt civici-ating member or slide 37 secured to thelower end of the operatii'ig rod 19. rifhis slide is reciprocablyniountei in the case 3 between a pair of guid` OJ. and 39, extendinglongitudinally of the cas ffl-i ing, and is further guided in itsmovements by means of oppositely projecting lugs 44') and 41, the formerbeing adapted to engage the under surface of the cover of the case.while the latter operates in a slot 42 in the base plate 43 of thecasing.

ln the lower end of the operating member 37 is provided a slot 44 toreceive the adjacent end of the link 3b', the link being provided with asomewhat elongated slot A'ii- 3 which receives a pin 47 secured to themember 37, so as to provide a loose or Alost motion connection betweenthe operating member 37 and the bolt 33.

Above the operating mechanism a detent or dogging stirrup 5() is pivotedto the case upon the pin 51, and a spring wound about this pin andreacting` against the case and against a shoulder on the stirrup membertends to hold this member in a. depressed position, as shown in Fig. ti.ThisI stirrup member is provided at its lower end with a cross piece 54adapted. to engage behind the bolt 33 to dog it in protracted position.It will be apparent that otherwise the bolt could be swung to retractedposition merely by an opening pressure upon the door. The member 54 maybe bevel-ed upon its lower surface, as shown at .'35, so that it, willride easily over the bolt when once its edge is raised above. the rearedge of the bolt. The stirrup 5() is provided with a second cross bar ormember 56 intermediate its length, which is adapted to rest upon abeveled shoulder 5. provided upon a` portion of the operating member 37.

It will be observed that when the operating rod 19 is drawn upwardly,the shoulder 57, by engagement with the cross member 56, will cause thestirrup to be raised,

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as shown in Fig. 7, until its lower edge is above the rear edge of thebolt 33. Due to the form of connection between the stem 37 and the linkprovided by the elongated slot 4.6 and pin 47, this movement of thestirrup will be eli'ected prior to the beginning of the retraction ofthe 'bolt by the link which takes place upon a continued movement of therod 19. llVhile a continued movement oit this rod will, of course,retract the bolt by swinging it pivotally about the pin 32, in practicesuch an operation will probably not take place, as immediately the crossmember 54- of the stirrup is moved from its clogging position behind thebolt 33, the bolt will be retracted by engagement with the keeper uponan opening movement of the door. That is, if pressure is applied to thedoor in an opening direction, the bolt will be free to swing into thelock case, as shown in Fig. 7, and this movement will, oit course, beeffected by the keeper. When the door is opened, the rod 19, and with itthe rod 18, will be retracted, and both will be retained in thisposition due to the contact of the dogging member 27 with the lower sideof the upper bolt 23. This serves to retain the bolt 33 in retractedposition until the door is again closed and the bolt 23 swung upwardlyabout its pivot, so that the dog 27 will be permitted to move upwardlybehind the shoulder 28. In this manner, the bolt 33 is prevented fromgouging lthe floor when the door is swinging to and 4i'rom closedposition.

Secured in the threshold or floor below the lower edge of the door tocooperate with the bolt 33 is a strike plate 6() olf novel constructionprovided with a recess 61. This recess 61 is relatively deep at a pointdesignated by the numeral 62 where it is provided with an abruptvertically disposed shoulder 63 which cooperates with the bolt. From thepoint 62, the bottom ofthe recess slopes upwardly toward the rear edge64 ot the recess and also in a lateral direction toward the sides65'a1'1d 65a. The 'front edge of the recess 61 is not parallel with the'front edge of the strike plate, as the shoulder 63 proliects inwardlybeyond the adjacent edges oi the recess to provide the two lobes 66 and67, the edges 68 and 69 of which extend forwardly beyond this shoulder.The resulting conformation provides that the deepest part of this recessis at the shoulder 63, and the bottom of the recess has a somewhatgradual slope upwardly from this point toward the edges in alldirections away from this shoulder.

As a result, when the door is closed and the bolt 33 released so that itmay be protracted by the spring 22 and the force of gravity, the boltenters the strike openingwith a rotary or gouging motion, which servesto push any accumulated dirt from in front oi the keeper shoulder 63outwardly .into the lobes 66 and 67. As the bottom of the recess slopesupwardly all about the circumference of these lobes, the dirt is crowdedor pushed out of the strike opening `and does not remain compactedagainst the keeper 63 in the path of the bolt. The projection of thekeeper 63 into the recess beyond the. Jfront edges 68 and 69 thereofpermits the dirt or dust accumulated in the keeper opening to be pushedoutwardly and torwardly at a point adjacent 'the shoulder 63 and tendsto prevent its accumulation' in front of this shoulder.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my'invention, it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all thedetails shown but is capable of variation and modification within thespirit of the invention and within the scope oit the appended claims.

Claims on the invention of the keeper are presented in my co-pendingapplication, Serial 100,543, filed April 3, 1926.

that l claim is :l

1. In a panic bar lock, a lock case mounted adjacent the edge of thedoor, a bolt pivoted to the case to move to protracted and retractedpositions by a rotary movement, means to dog said bolt in protractedposition to hold the door closed, said bolt being adapted to beretracted by an opening movenient o'l the door when the clogging meansis inoperative, means to move saidv clogging member to inoperativeposition, said means being also connected to said bolt to actuate thesame.

2. In a panic bar lock, a lock case mounted adjacent the edge of thedoor, a bolt pivoted to the case to move to protracted and retractedpositions by a rotary movement, means to dog said bolt in protractedposition to hold the door closed. said bolt being adapted to beretracted by an opening movement oi" the door when the clogging means isinoperative, means to move said clogging member to inoperative position,said means having a lost notion connection with said bolt whereby acontinued movement thereof retracts the bolt after said clogging meansis rendered inoperative.

3. In a panic bolt lock, a case secured acljacent the edge of the door,a bolt pivoted to the case to move to protracted and retracted positionsby a rotary motion, and adapted to be retracted into the case by contactwith the door strike, a dogging member pivotally mounted in the case andadapted to engage the bolt to clog it in protracted position, a panicbar mounted on the door and an operating rod extending longitudinally ofthe door and actuated by said panic bar and controlling` said dog.

1l. In a panic bolt lock, a case secured to the door near the edgethereof, a bolt mounted on a pivotlixed in the case and adapted to beswung about its pivot to retracted position by Contact with the strike,means to urge said bolt normally to protracted position,

and means to hold the bolt in said retracted position when tlie door isopen.

5. In a door lock, a case, a bolt mounted on a liked pivot therein to bemoved to retracted position by contact; with the door strike when thedoor is opened, a bolt operating member slidably mounted in the case andconnected to said bolt to move it about its pivot. and means to holdsaid, bolt in retracted position when the door is open.

6. In a panic bar lock, a lock case mounted adjacent the edge of thedoor, a bolt pivotally mounted therein and adapted to be retracted bycontact with the strike, a manually operable bolt operating membermounted on the door and connected to said bolt. means to normally urgesaid bolt to protracted position, and means including said boltoperating member to hold the bolt in retracted position against theaction oit' said urging means when the door is open. j

7. In a panic bar lock, a lock case mounted adjacent the edge of thedoor. a bolt pivot-ally mounted therein and adapted to be retracted bycontact with the strike, a bolt opera ting member mounted on the doorand connected to said bolt, means t-o normally urge said bolt to swingabout its pivot to protracted position, and means to hold the bolt inretracted position against the action of said urging means when the dooris open, said means being released to permit protraction of the boltwhen the door is closed.

8. ln a panic bar lock, a lock case mounted adjacent the edge ot thedoor, a bolt pivotalljv mounted therein, a bolt operating .membermounted on the door and connected to said bolt, means to normally urgesaid bolt to swing about its pivot to protracted position7 and means tohold the bolt in retracted position about its pivot against the actionof said urging means when the door is opcn, and means to dog said boltin protracted position.

9. In a panic bar lock, a lock case mounted adjacent the edge ot thedoor, a bolt mounted on a lixed pivot therein, a bolt operating membermounted on the door and connected to said bolt, means to normally urgesaid bolt to protracted position, means to hold the bolt in retractedposition against the action ot said urging means when the door is open,said means being released to permit protraction of the bolt when thedoor is closed, and means to dog said bolt in protracted position.

l0. I.; a panic bar lock, a case adapted to be mounted in the edge o'tlthe door, a boltpivotally mounted in the case to swing about its pivotand to contact with the door strike, a clogging member pivoted in thecase and adapted to dog the bolt in protracted position, a boltoperating member slidably mounted in the case and connected to the boltto operate the same, and clamping means upon said bolt operating memberto engage said dog and move it to inoperative position prior to theretraction of the bolt.

1l. In a panic bar lock, a case adapted vto be mounted in the edge ofthe door, a bolt pivotally mounted in the case to swing about its pivotand to contact with the door strike, a flogging member pivoted to thecase and adapted to dog the bolt .in protracted position, a boltoperating member slidably mounted in the case having a lost motionconnection with the bolt to operate the same, and camming means uponsaid bolt operating member to engage said dog` and move it to inopeativeposition prior to the retraction ot the bolt.

l2. ln a panic bar lock, a lock case mounted at the upper odge oit' thedoor, a second lock case mounted at the lower edge of the door, boltoperating mechanism mounted on the door intermediate said lock cases, abolt pivoted to each oit said cases and adapted to cooperate with strikemembers on the lintel and floor respectively, dogging means to hold saidbolts in protracted position, actuating means for said dogging means,and means to retain said bolts in retracted position when the door isopen.

13. ln a panic bar lock, a lock case mounted at the upper edge of thedoor. a second lock case mounted at the lower edge ot the door, boltoperating mechanism mounted on the door intermediate said lock cases, abolt pivoted to each ot said cases and adapted to cooperate with strikemembers on the lintel and licor, respectively, clogging means to holdsaid bolts in protracted position, actuating means for said cloggingmeans, one of said bolts being retained by gravity into retractedposition when the door is open, and said bolt, when in such position,retaining the other bolt in retracted position.

14. In a panic bar lock, a lock case mounted adjacent the lower edge ofthe door, a bolt pivotally secured to the lock case and adapted to beretracted by a rotary motion. a strike plate mounted below the door andhaving a keeper to cooperate with said bolt, said strike plate beingprovided with a recess eXteuding on three sides of said keeper.

l5. 1n a panic bar lock, a lock case mounted adjacent the lower edge ofthe door, a bolt pivotally secured to the lock case and adapted to beretracted by a rotary motion, a strike plate mounted below the door andhaving a keeper to cooperate with said bolt, said strike plate beingprovided with a recess extending on three sides of said keeper, and thebottom of said recess sloping upwardly in all directions away from saidkeeper.

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16. In a panic bar lock, a lock case mounted adjacent the lower edge ofthe door, a bolt pivotally secured to the lock case and adapted to beretracted by a rotary motion, a strike plate mounted below the door andhaving a keeper to cooperate with said bolt, said strike plate beingprovided with a recess, the bottom o't` which extends upwardly in alldirections away from said keeper.

17. In a panic bar lock, a lock case mounted adjacent the lower edge ofthe door, a bolt pivotally secured to the lock case and adapted to beretracted by a rotary motion, a strike plate mounted below the door andhaving a keeper to cooperate with said bolt, said strike plate beingprovided with a recess in t'ront of the keeper, and the bottom of saidrecess sloping downwardly theretoward, whereby the end of the bolt, inits movement to protracted position, remains closely adjacent thebottoni ot the recess.

18. In a panic bar lock, a case mounted adjacent the edge of the door,a. bolt pivotally secured to the case to move to protracted andretracted positions by a rotary motion, a strike plate mounted in thedoor jamb and having a keeper to cooperate with said bolt, said strikeplate being provided with a recess in front of the keeper, the bottom ofwhich slopes downwardly theretoward, and said bolt being provided with abeveled face whereby said face lits snugly against the bottom of therecess when the bolt is protracted.

19. In a panic bar lock, a lock case mounted adjacent the edgeof thedoor, a bolt pivotally connected to said case to move to protractedposition by a rotary motion, a strike plate mounted adjacent the doorand provided with a keeper to engage said bolt, said strike plate beingprovided with a recess forwardly of said keeper, and said recess beingenlarged to extend laterally beyond said keeper, whereby dirtaccumulated in front of the keeper will be forced into the enlarged partof the recess by the movement of the bolt.

20. In a door holding mechanism, a casing, a bolt pivoted in the casingto swing to protracted position, dogging means on the casing to dog thebolt in such protracted position, an operating rod having a lost motionconnection with said bolt to cause the retraction ot the same, and meanswhereby the actuation of said rod will move the dogging means toinoperative position.

21. In a door holding mechanism, a cas ing, a bolt pivotally mounted inthe casing to swing to protracted position, an operating rod having a.lost motion connection with said bolt to move the same to retractedposition, a clogging member pivoted in the casing in a superposedposition relative to part of said rod to dog the bolt in protractedposition, and means whereby the actuation of said rod moves the cloggingmember to position to release the bolt.

22. In a door holding` mechanism, a casing, a bolt pivotaily mounted inthe casing to swing to protracted position, an operating rod having alost motion connection with said bolt to move the same to retractedposition, a clogging member pivoted in the casing in a superposedposition relative to part of said rod to dog the bolt in protractedposition, and means whereby the actuation of said rod moves the cloggingmember to position to release the bolt prior to the beginning of thereti-acting movement.

23. In a door holding mechanism, a casing, a bolt pivotally mounted inthe casing to swing to protracted position, an operating rod having alost motion connection with said bolt to move the same to retractedposition, a clogging member pivoted in the casing in a superposedposition relative to part of said rod to dog the bolt in protractedposition, means TThereby the actuation of said rod` moves the cloggingmember to position to release the bolt prior to the beginning of thereti-acting movement, and means to hold said bolt in retracted positionwithin the lock when the door is open.

24. In a panic bar lock, a lock case mounted adjacent the lower edge oitthe door, a bolt mounted in the ease adapted to be moved to protractedand retracted positions, a strikeplate mounted below the door and havinga keeper to cooperate with the bolt, said strikeplate being providedwith a. recess extending on three sides of said keeper.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 23rd day of August,1923.

JOI-IN I-I. SHAW.

